Wounds are generally classified as acute or chronic in accordance with their healing tendencies. Acute wounds, typically those received as a result of surgery or trauma, usually heal uneventfully within an expected time frame. Acute wounds include wounds such as active bleeding wound sites, e.g, wounds that have detectable, unclotted blood. The rapid control of topical bleeding at active bleeding wound sites is of critical importance in wound management, especially for the management of trauma, e.g., as a result of military exercises or surgery.
A conventional method of controlling bleeding at active bleeding wound sites, such as an external hemorrhage or a surgical wound, advocates the use of cotton gauze pads capable of absorbing 250 ml of blood. Cotton pads are considered passive, however, because of their inability to initiate or accelerate blood clotting. Other formulations have been reported to promote hemostasis and are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,454,787; 6,060,461; 5,196,190; 5,667,501; 4,793,336; 5,679,372; 5,098,417; and 4,405,324. A hemostatic composition capable of accelerating the coagulation cascade to form a thrombus would be useful.